Message from Hillary Clinton

Participants in the Climate Primary received this message from Hillary Clinton — making the case for why she deserves the endorsement of Climate Hawks Vote Political Action. We sent this message and a message in support of Bernie Sanders to an equal number of recipients and in random order.

This week, the members of Climate Hawks Vote will be receiving messages on behalf of both candidates in the Climate Primary — Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders — with each making the case for why they deserve your vote. To ensure fairness, we are sending each message to an equal number of recipients and in random order. Please read, cast your ballot, and get out the vote to your friends and family. —RL Miller, President, Climate Hawks Vote

Dear Friend —

The science of climate change is unforgiving. 2015 was the hottest year on record by a mile, and 14 of the 15 warmest years on record have occurred in this century. Already, communities across America are seeing the impacts of climate change, from longer, hotter wildfire seasons in the West to rising sea levels flooding streets in Miami and Annapolis at high tide. Scientists are concerned that climate change is making it easier for vector-borne diseases like Zika to spread—and we know this won’t be the last public health challenge we’ll face. The Obama Administration recently awarded a grant to the state of Louisiana to resettle the entire population of the Isle de Jean Charles, which has lost 98 percent of its land mass to coastal erosion and rising seas—and we know they won’t be the last community facing that hard choice here in America or elsewhere in the world. Climate change is a real and urgent threat, and we must use every tool we have to tackle it.

That’s why I have a comprehensive plan to combat climate change and make America the clean energy superpower of the 21st century. My plan focuses on using the extensive authorities a President has to tackle this problem using laws already on the books, and on bringing together the diverse range of cities, states, rural communities, universities, businesses, nonprofits, and others who are committed to taking action—including local Republican leaders.

I believe it would be a mistake to assume that Republicans in Congress will get with the program in the near term—because we can’t wait for them to start paying more attention to scientists than they do to Big Oil. Eventually reality will catch up with them—but we can’t wait for that to happen. The next president has to start building on the progress President Obama has made right away because the next decade will be decisive in our ability to meet the climate challenge.

On my first day in office I will set big new goals for our country that we will achieve within ten years, and get to work immediately on meeting them:

Enough renewable electricity to power every home in America, with 500 million solar panels installed by the end of my first term

Increase clean energy production on public lands ten-fold

Cut energy waste from our homes and businesses by one-third

Cut oil consumption across the economy by one-third

I’ll achieve these goals by defending, implementing and extending smart federal pollution and efficiency standards, including President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, fuel economy standards for cars and trucks, appliance standards, and building codes. And I’ll launch a new $60 billion Clean Energy Challenge to partner with cities, states, and rural communities that are ready to lead on clean energy and efficiency and exceed federal standards. We’ll lower energy costs for homes and businesses, protect American families from the harmful impacts of pollution and create good-paying jobs across the country.

It’s past time we eliminate fossil fuel subsides and take away the special tax breaks that benefit big oil and gas companies and invest in clean energy. And when oil companies come knocking because they want to open up new offshore areas to drilling, I’ll tell them loud and clear: Not on my watch. I believe there are places where we need to keep fossil fuels in the ground or under the ocean—like the Arctic Ocean and the off the East Coast—and I strongly believe that we should be phasing out the production of fossil fuels on public lands, starting with the dirtiest sources, and making our public lands and waters into major drivers of the clean energy economy.

If we’re honest about the challenge of climate change, we know we can’t take any option that cuts carbon pollution off the table. That’s why I support safe nuclear power, which accounts for about 20 percent of U.S. power generation and nearly two-thirds of our zero-carbon electricity today, and believe we shouldn’t consider shutting down this reliable power source when we don’t have a realistic way to replace it with equivalent zero-carbon power. And we should increase research and development investment in advanced nuclear power. I also believe that with the right safeguards in place, natural gas production can help move us toward a clean energy future. I know natural gas is controversial—but it can be an important near term tool for displacing much dirtier fuels, like coal and higher-polluting fuel oil, delivering important public health and climate benefits. For that to work, we absolutely must do more to curb methane emissions, which is why I will set tough standards for both new and existing sources, launch a natural effort to repair and replace leaky old pipelines in our communities, and cut methane emissions by 40-45 percent. We can’t have more crises like the massive methane leak in Porter Ranch, CA. We need to repeal the egregious “Halliburton loophole” in the Safe Drinking Water Act, require full disclosure of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, and ensure it does not pose a risk to public health. And we need to respect the decision of states, cities and towns that decide they don’t want fracking to occur in their communities.

If we do all of that, we won’t just meet the goals President Obama and the world set in Paris—we’ll exceed them. My plan will cut greenhouse gas emissions economy-wide by up to 30 percent by 2025, and put us on the path to cut emissions more than 80 percent by the middle of the century. I’m proud of what President Obama achieved in Paris, and I will work with our partners to continue to drive international progress in combating this global threat, including by forging a new North American Climate Compact with Canada and Mexico so we’re working together to invest in clean energy, reduce emissions, and combat climate change continent-wide. I know how to build coalitions and get big things done—and that’s what we need to do to take on this global fight.

As a new grandmother, this is personal for me. I want my granddaughter—and my second grandchild on the way—to live in a safe world with clean air and clean water, where they can enjoy all the wonders of nature. I want the very same for every young person, every child, every grandchild in America and everywhere in the world. I know that can only happen if America leads this fight—and that will take all of us, using every tool we have, making progress wherever we can.

This is a fight for our lives—and it’s a fight we must wage and win together. I hope to earn your vote, and to stand together as we take on the climate challenge.

Hillary Clinton

Paid for by Climate Hawks Vote Political Action, http://www.climatehawksvote.com and not authorized by any candidate. Contributions to Climate Hawks Vote Political Action are not deductible for federal income tax purposes.